Steven Naismith’s community activities outside of football have been well publicised over the years.

From attending annual Christmas dinners for the homeless, buying tickets for unemployed fans at Everton to being an ambassador for Dyslexia Scotland, the Hearts striker is passionate about giving back and helping those less fortunate however he can.

This summer he’s taken on a new project in addition to earning his crust in maroon. While it is primarily a business, is also about giving back to the local community in an area he knows very well.

Along with some friends, Naismith has opened Oven Pizza in Stewarton, Ayrshire, not far from his home town of Irvine.

Having recently signed a four-year deal at Tynecastle, Naismith isn’t about to give it all up to become a pizza chef, but was keen to establish the kind of place that perhaps wasn’t available to himself and others growing up in the area.

“We and a few of the boys have just opened up a nice wee pizza restaurant called Oven in Stewarton,” he explained.

“As much as it’s a business and needs to be successful, it’s more about going back to when we were kids and thinking ‘what would we like to have?’

“We hope it’s a place that the whole town and local community can come to enjoy some excellent food in a good environment and it’s cost effective for everybody.”

Despite not being local, several of Naismith’s Hearts teammates have been along and given Oven the thumbs up and any Hearts fans who for whatever reason happen to be in the vicinity, will no doubt be keen to pop in.

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